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Enlarge ImageRequest to buy this photoJulie Jacobson | Associated PressRafael Nadal, pictured after yesterday’s win, improved to 22-0 on hard courts and 60-3 overall in 2013, with nine titles, including the French Open.

NEW YORK — Hard to believe this is the same Rafael Nadal who was home during the U.S. Open a
year ago, hampered by a bad left knee.

Hard to believe this is the guy sent packing in the first round of Wimbledon in June, losing
against someone ranked 135th in the world.

Looking fit as can be and maybe even better than ever, Nadal pulled away from top-seeded Novak
Djokovic 6-2, 3-6, 6-4, 6-1 yesterday in a taut, tense U.S. Open men’s final for his 13th Grand
Slam title.

“Very, very emotional, no?” Nadal said during the on-court trophy presentation. “Probably only
my team knows how much (this) means for me.”

They started in sunlight and finished at night, a 3-hour, 21-minute miniseries of cliffhangers
and plot twists and a pair of protagonists who inspired standing ovations in the middle of
games.

“Probably nobody brings my game to the limit like Novak,” said Nadal, the second seed who
collected $3.6 million in prize money, including a $1 million bonus for results during the North
American hard-court circuit.

“He was too good. He definitely deserved to win this match today and this trophy,” Djokovic
said. “Obviously disappointing to lose a match like this.”

Nadal improved to 22-0 on hard courts and 60-3 overall in 2013, with nine titles, including at
the French Open, which made him the first man with at least one Grand Slam trophy in nine
consecutive seasons. Nadal’s total of 13 major championships ranks third in the history of men’s
tennis, behind Roger Federer’s 17 and Pete Sampras’ 14.

“Thirteen Grand Slams for a guy who is 27 years old is incredible,” said Djokovic, who owns six
himself. “Whatever he achieved so far in his career, everybody should respect, no question about
it.”

At the outset, Djokovic was his own worst enemy on many points, a touch or two off the mark.
Nadal claimed 12 of the last 14 points in the first set, with Djokovic looking almost bored.

There were no surprising or innovative tactics from Nadal. In the simplest of terms, he reached
nearly every ball Djokovic delivered, and Nadal’s replies nearly never missed the intended spot,
accented by his huge uppercut of a swing. By match’s end, Djokovic had made 53 unforced errors,
Nadal only 20.

“Credit to my opponent. He was making me run,” said Djokovic, who won the Australian Open in
January and will remain No. 1 in the rankings despite the loss. “I had my ups and downs.”

Djokovic’s biggest ups came in the second set. Nadal was broken once through his first six
matches in the tournament — a string that reached 88 games by early in the final’s second set. But
Djokovic broke Nadal three straight times.

The first came for a 4-2 lead in the second set. But the final momentum swing came with Nadal
serving at 4-all in the third set. Djokovic earned three break points, but a quick forehand winner
by Nadal, a forehand into the net by Djokovic on a 22-stroke point and a 125 mph ace helped Nadal
avoid another break.

In the next game, Nadal broke Djokovic’s serve and, apparently, his will. When that set ended
with Djokovic pushing a forehand long on a 19-shot point, Nadal screamed as he knelt down at the
baseline, his racket on the court and his left fist pumping over and over and over.

Djokovic made one last stand, holding break points in the fourth set’s first game, but Nadal
saved those, then broke to go ahead 2-0. Once again, Nadal withstood Djokovic’s best and was on his
way to another Grand Slam celebration.

“It’s what we do when we play against each other, always pushing each other to the limit,”
Djokovic said. “That’s the beauty of our matches and our rivalry, I guess, in the end.”